Coronavirus: Dr Frances Black’s naked tip for isolating travellers in hotel quarantine
A former GP has a tip for her fellow travellers quarantined in hotels after arriving from overseas — go naked. She also said she’s so busy there are not enough hours in the day to do everything she wants.
Manly
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A retired GP in enforced self-isolation at a Sydney five-star hotel says she has a tip for her fellow quarantined travellers – go naked.
Dr Frances Black, 70, of Newport, said she was totally in support of the government’s policy of isolating those coming into the country from overseas for 14 days as it was essential for slowing down the spread of COVID-19.
And, she said one benefit of the strange situation was that she could save on washing by wearing nothing at all.
“I quickly realised I did not have to get dressed,” she said.
“No-one is going to come bursting into my room.
“It is very liberating and I won’t dirty any clothes.”
There are currently more than 3000 returned Australians holed up in hotels around the country, with many of them complaining about the quality of food and lack of fresh air.
Dr Black, who is now at the Hyatt Regency, found herself trapped in a small flat in Ecuador after the country shut its borders the day she arrived on March 12.
She flew back to Sydney on a $4000 flight via Houston and San Francisco on Monday and is now in quarantine.
Dr Black said isolating in hotels helps keep hospitality workers in jobs, saves people working out the logistics of self-isolating at home safely without infecting other members of their family, but most importantly will help slow the spread of the disease.
“To the people criticising having to isolate, the question I would like to ask them is do we want to be living in a country that looks after its citizens and our health?” she said.
Dr Black, who was a GP at Collaroy Plateau, CEO of the Manly Warringah Division of General Practice for 18 years and wrote a weekly column in the Manly Daily, said she wasn’t bored in isolation and in fact she didn’t have enough hours in the day to do everything she wanted even though she doesn’t watch TV.
She said she was busy doing online exercise classes, art and Spanish lessons, as well as reading.
She said the food was good and she was also catching up with friends and family via video calls – where she puts her hotel bathrobe to spare any blushes.
Dr Black said when she gets home she is most looking forward to seeing her four-year-old grandson again, as well as her husband John.